Prevalence of depression and anxiety and associated factors among geriatric orthopedic trauma inpatients: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression in geriatric orthopedic trauma patients have received little attention in research. AIM: To investigate the prevalence of emotional disorders among geriatric orthopedic trauma patients and identify demographic, social and clinical risk factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in geriatric patients (aged ≥ 60 years, both sexes) with orthopedic trauma admitted to a level I trauma center between May 2015 and December 2017. Demographic, social, and clinical characteristics were described. Huaxi Emotional-Distress Index (HEI) was used to evaluate the severity of anxiety and depression status. Differences in continuous variables were tested using the t-test, and differences in categorical variables were assessed using the Pearson χ(2 )test. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with a HEI score > 8. RESULTS: Among the 966 patients, 487 were male and 479 were female, with a mean age of 70.2 ± 7.1 years. The age ranged from 60 to 90 years. Seventy-five patients had an HEI score > 8, accounting for about 7.8% of all patients. A higher Injury Severity Score (4.17 ± 3.10 vs 7.96 ± 6.68, P < 0.001), higher Visual Analog Score (5.05 ± 1.09 vs 6.89 ±1.23, P < 0.001), number of chronic diseases (P < 0.001), injury type (P = 0.038), and education level (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with HEI score > 8. On logistic regression, a higher education level was a protective factor for emotional disorders (P = 0.047), whereas Injury Severity Score (P = 0.024), Visual Analog Score (P < 0.001), two or more chronic diseases (P < 0.001) were the related independent risk factors. CONCLUSION: Emotional disorders are common in geriatric patients with orthopedic trauma. Clinicians should remain vigilant of emotional disorders in geriatric patients and screen for anxiety and depression in higher risk groups.